The 2013 season will be remembered as the SEC's Year of the Quarterback, a season where high-flying offenses led by stars like a returning Heisman Trophy winner (Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M) or the league's all-time leading passer (Georgia's Aaron Murray) turned the traditionally defensive league into a gun-slinging offensive show.

Most of them are gone and if there is to be a conference set to have a similar year to what the SEC put together in 2013, it may be the Pac-12.

Let by Heisman Trophy challenger Marcus Mariota of Oregon and UCLA gunslinger Brett Hundley, the West seems chalk full of top-flight quarterbacks with arguably four of the nation's top 10 quarterbacks coming from the Pacific time zone.

Winston is the latest returning underclassman Heisman Trophy winner with a chance to become the first since Archie Griffin to repeat. It's not hard to see it happening given how good the defending national champions look.

The bad news for Winston is Heisman underclassmen tend to set the bar too high for a repeat. Manziel threw 11 more touchdown passes and for more yards last season than in his Heisman-winning 2012 season, but he gave way to Winston. It's almost as if Heisman winners have to be better the next year to win again -- and it's hard to be better than Winston was last year.

Marcus Mariota enters the 2014 season as one of the leaders in the Heisman Trophy race.File

Mariota is the closest thing we have to Manziel now, a dual-threat guy whose rushing ability far exceeds Winston. Many think that double threat might enable Mariota to knock Winston off his Heisman perch.

To do so, Mariota will have to stay healthy. A strained MCL slowed him down late last season, particularly limiting his running ability late in the year.

3. Bryce Petty, Baylor (4,200 passing yards, 32 TDs in 2013)

Playing in Art Briles' pass-happy system, Petty put up bigger passing yard totals than either Winston or Mariota, but he did it while only throwing three interceptions in 403 attempts. If he can be that precise again and Baylor repeats as Big 12 champion, it wouldn't take much of a decline from Winston or Mariota for Petty's Heisman candidacy to sprout legs.

Two drawbacks are that Petty was so precise last year, it's hard to imagine him managing to get through 400 passes with only three interceptions again. And, he struggled a bit down the stretch against better competition.

Here's the amazing thing about the elusive Hundley: He was sacked 35 times last year and still led his team in rushing. Imagine what he could do if he didn't take so many sacks.

If UCLA can protect him and he can put up last year's rushing numbers with his 3,700 passing yards from 2012, he'll have numbers that would be in the same ballpark as the seasons Winston and Mariota had in 2013. In other words, he'll be right in the thick of the Heisman race.

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller could have three straight "2,000-1,000" seasons.Doug Lesmerises, Cleveland.com

Miller has a chance to exceed 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards for a third straight season and while he may not ever be a 3,000-yard passer, most would take his 24 touchdown passes to just seven interceptions last year.

Miller is arguably the Big 10's most prominent Heisman hopeful and could be a guy who leads the Buckeyes to a deep playoff run. But like Nick Marshall of Auburn, he may never put up sexy enough passing numbers to win the big individual honor.

The Next 5

6. Nick Marshall, Auburn: With the addition of junior college stud D'haquille Williams at wide receiver, Marshall can easily pass for way more than his pedestrian 1,976 yards of a year ago. Coupled with his rushing ability (1,068 yards last year), he could become a serious Heisman contender.

7. Sean Mannion, Oregon State: This is a guy who passed for 4,662 yards and 37 touchdowns last year. In terms of pure passing yardage, none of the other top quarterbacks were better than Mannion. But can he do it again without gifted wide receiver Brandin Cooks?

8. Christian Hackenberg, Penn State: He threw for 2,955 yards and 20 touchdowns as a true freshman on a Nittany Lions team still reeling in depth after NCAA-mandated scholarship reductions. That would have been even bigger news if not for some other freshman named Winston stealing the show.

9. Taylor Kelly, Arizona State: The fourth Pac 12 QB on the list has thrown for 6,674 yards and 57 touchdowns the last two seasons. Those are attention-grabbing statistics, but it's hard to gain much attention in the same league as Mariota, Hundley and Mannion.

10. Rakeem Cato, Marshall: The best quarterback from outside the five power conferences has career statistics one can't ignore: 10,176 yards and 91 touchdowns. Marshall has a shot at a huge season and if the Thundering Herd wins big, Cato could be one of those mid-major darling Heisman candidates.

Also look out for: Michigan State's Connor Cook is sort of this year's A.J. McCarron in that he didn't put up sexy statistics last season, but he is a returning starting quarterback on a Big Ten champion. ... Two quarterbacks to watch in the Big 12 are Davis Webb of Texas Tech, who threw for 2,718 yards as a true freshman, and Oklahoma's Trevor Knight, who had a break-out performance against Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. ... BYU's Taysom Hill is a threat to pass for 3,000 yards (he threw for 2,938 last year) and rush for 1,500 (he rambled for 1,344 last season). ... Mississippi State's Dak Prescott put up statistics comparable to Marshall last season and Ole Miss' Bo Wallace is a returning 3,000-yard passer.. ... Don't look for SEC QB play to decline too much with many talented first-year starters, headlined by Alabama's Jacob Coker, Winston's backup last year at Florida State.